China Q2 GDP drops by 1.9 percentage points YoY

But investment picked up by 23.2% in June, suggesting a stronger sector amid policy easing.

According to Nomura, China‟s Q2 GDP growth dropped to 7.6%. Growth in approved investment for new projects rose by 23.2% in June from 22% in May, which suggests investment growth will pick up further in coming months.

Industrial production growth slowed to 9.5% in June. Fixed asset investment growth for H1 rose surprisingly to 20.4% y-o-y. Retail sales growth for June slowed slightly to 13.7%.

Here's more from Nomura:

The surprisingly strong investment growth sends another signal that policy easing has started to affect the economy. This is consistent with leading indicators such as new loans and M2 growth which have been rising. Premier Wen‟s speeches in the past week indicate policy easing will further pick up speed. We maintain our view that growth likely bottomed in Q2 and that policy easing will help the economy to rebound in Q3.